10 Takeaways: The Avalanche Finally Got the Playoff Path They Wanted
The Colorado Avalanche haven’t clinched a series at home in 18 years. They did it in 2008 against the Minnesota […] The post 10 Takeaways: The Avalanche Finally Got the Playoff Path They Wanted appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images The Colorado Avalanche haven’t clinched a series at home in 18 years.
They did it in 2008 against the Minnesota Wild, and now they’ve done it in 2026 against the very same team. Colorado won 4-3 despite trailing 3-0 in the opening period. The comeback saw the Avs score twice in the final minutes of regulation before an unexpected hero, Brett Kulak, captured his first career game-winning playoff goal to lift them to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2022.
The most incredible part of this run, to date, is how efficient the Avs have been at getting past the opponents they face. Colorado swept the Los Angeles Kings in four games in the opening round to set up this battle. But all along, Jared Bednar’s club knew they were going to get a battered team in Round 2, whether it was the Dallas Stars or Minnesota.
The team wanted to win the Presidents’ Trophy and have home-ice advantage for this exact reason. They didn’t want to be in the gauntlet opening round matchup as they had been for the previous two years. They also didn’t want to start on the road.
Continue to the original source for the full article.